§ 131D-34.1. Report of death of resident.
§ 131D‑34.1. Report ofdeath of resident.
(a) An adult care homeshall notify the Department of Health and Human Services immediately upon thedeath of any resident that occurs in the adult care home or that occurs within24 hours of the resident's transfer to a hospital if the death occurred withinseven days of the adult care home's use of physical restraint or physical holdof the resident, and shall notify the Department of Health and Human Serviceswithin three days of the death of any resident of the adult care home resultingfrom violence, accident, suicide, or homicide. The Department may assess acivil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) and not more thanone thousand dollars ($1,000) against a facility that fails to notify the Departmentof a death and the circumstances surrounding the death known to the facility.Chapter 150B of the General Statutes governs the assessment of a penalty underthis section. A civil penalty owed under this section may be recovered in acivil action brought by the Department or the Attorney General. The clearproceeds of the penalty shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for deposit inaccordance with State law.
(b) Upon receipt ofnotification from an adult care home in accordance with subsection (a) of thissection, the Department of Health and Human Services shall notify the Stateprotection and advocacy agency designated under the Developmental DisabilitiesAssistance and Bill of Rights Act 2000, P.L. 106‑402, that a person witha disability has died. The Department shall provide the agency access to theinformation about each death reported pursuant to subsection (a) of thissection, including information resulting from any investigation of the death bythe Department and from reports received from the Chief Medical Examinerpursuant to G.S. 130A‑385. The agency shall use the information inaccordance with its powers and duties under applicable State and federal lawand regulations.
(c) If the death of aresident of the adult care home occurs within seven days of the adult carehome's use of physical restraint or physical hold, the Department shallinitiate immediately an investigation of the death.
(d) Nothing in thissection abrogates State or federal law or requirements pertaining to the confidentiality,privilege, or other prohibition against disclosure of information provided tothe Department or the agency. In carrying out the requirements of this section,the Department and the agency shall adhere to State and federal requirements ofconfidentiality, privilege, and other prohibitions against disclosure andrelease applicable to the information received under this section. A facilityor provider that makes available confidential information in accordance withthis section and with State and federal law is not liable for the release ofthe information.
(e) The Secretary shallestablish a standard reporting format for reporting deaths pursuant to thissection and shall provide to facilities subject to this section a form for thefacility's use in complying with this section. (2000‑129, s. 6(a); 2007‑323, ss. 19.1(i),19.1(j).)